(Philadelphia) – A jury verdict obtained by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in a patent infringement case against client Janssen Biotech, Inc., was upheld on March 8 by a federal court in Massachusetts.

Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Janssen (formerly Centocor Ortho Biotech, Inc.) in the suit, which was brought by Abbott Biotechnology Ltd. (now AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.) and other related Abbott companies.

Abbott had alleged that Centocor’s Stelara drug, used to treat the effects of psoriasis, violated two Abbott patents. Following an 11-day trial in September 2012, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Janssen. Judge Saylor affirmed that verdict, denying all of Abbott’s post-trial motions, including motions for judgment as a matter of law on three grounds and motions for a new trial.

Had Abbott prevailed with its original infringement claim, the trial would have proceeded to a damages phase, in which Abbott had sought an award of hundreds of millions of dollars, with hundreds of millions of dollars of future damages also at stake.

The Akin Gump team representing Janssen was led by intellectual property partners Dianne Elderkin, Barbara Mullin and Steven Maslowski.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 850 attorneys in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.